Middleweight Motorcycles - Four For $10,000

Wallet-Friendly Doesn't Mean Middle Of The Road
* Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 Custom
* Honda VTX1300C
* Star V Star 1300
* Suzuki boulevard M90

Shoot Out!
Used to be that finding a new, full-featured, competent cruiser for $10,000 involved a bit of compromise at the buyer's end-forsaking the candy pearl paint, skipping the chrome rims and maybe opting for just the bare bones model. But with the economic climate being the way it is, landing a new ride for 10 grand is no longer a pipe dream. When you consider what you get when you buy a new modern motorcycle, it's a good value regardless of model or brand, but in these days of incessantly bottoming vehicle prices, your options are no longer limited to just Cycle Trader closeouts. What's available for 10K now definitely doesn't fall under the definition of "budget".

The Plan
We felt it would be more on-target to structure a comparison based on dollars instead of displacement, the feeling being that engine size shouldn't be the only measure in play.

Turns out bikes at the sub-five figure level cover a wide swath of styles and features. Many of the players were familiar to us-Honda's six-year old VTX, Star's no-longer-shiny V Star and Harley's evergreen Sportster 1200 (in Custom guise). Replacing the far-too-long-in-the tooth S83 is Suzuki's new hotshot, the M90.

This quartet falls into the meat of the heavy middleweight crop, ranging in displacement from the Sportster's 1204cc to the Suzuki's 1462cc. In our last heavy-middleweight comparo (August 2007), it was the VTX, V Star and H-D Custom against Suzuki's stalwart S83. There, the V Star snatched top honors, while the S83 was relegated to the bottom of scoring lists. This time though, Suzuki had an ace in the hole-the M90.

We ran into a few wrinkles, of course. Just after we structured our test, Suzuki decided to raise the price of its new bad boy to $10,599, potentially muddying the waters. In the end, we decided to greenlight it; after all, the $10,290 Star was over 10K, as was the Harley (colors other than black are a $300 option). With three of the contestants coming in over 10K but still within $600, we were ready to roll.

There are a few other contenders priced just north of our mandated benchmark. Check out the sidebar on page 54.

The Program
We gathered up the four bikes for some urban, freeway and back-road bombing, swapping among a core group of four veteran test riders. Our pilots ran the physical gamut, ranging from strapping, 6-foot-2 mercenary tester Mark Downs to dwarflike Cherney at a diminutive 5-foot-7. Three of the four riders were six-feet or taller.

From the get-go, testers were surprised by the bikes' differences, and not just from a visual standpoint. Even the common denominator-a V-twin powerplant-varies from bike to bike. The mix swung from Harley's classic, air-cooled, two-valve, 45-degree V arrangement to the Star's four-valve, 60-degree setup. In between lie Honda's liquid-cooled, 52-degree vee and Suzuki's 54-degree jug angles.

The VTX1300 is king of the Honda roost now that the company has pulled its big bro from the 2009 lineup. But the 1300 was fresh from the ground up when it debuted back in 2004. For one, the VTX1300C is carbureted, and unlike the 1800, it utilizes a single-pin crank arrangement. The low-slung street rod vibe is reinforced by a tall 19 inch wheel up front and a brief rear fender.

The Harley may represent the old guard in this shootout but at least it's not carbureted. The same frame, engine and 150mm rear tire is used on all four '09 Sportster 1200 models, but you can spot the Custom by its skinny 21-inch front wheel. Customs also get a disc-style 16-inch rear wheel, forward controls and a short handlebar supporting an integrated speedo. The rubber-mounted motor is standard-issue Sportster, with air-cooling, fuel injection and pushrod-actuated valves.

The V Star was the big news back in 2007, when it brought 4 valves and liquid cooling along with cleverly routed internal water and oil lines. It was the most sophisticated entry to the middleweight class at the time, but with the addition of the M90, the Star is no longer the top tech dog. It's still a looker though, with sexy, stretched bodywork, floorboards, trick gauge readouts and a high level of finish.

As for the ol' Intruder 1400, the 45-degree air/oil-cooled V-twin was ushered out of the line this year, wearing a Boulevard S83 badge. Cue the M90-which looks to fill a hole not only in Suzuki's own fleet, but also in the broader cruiser market. It would've been easy to swap components from the existing C90, but the M90's liquid-cooled, four-valve V-twin is all-new. It's set at 54 degrees (like the M109R), while the C90 houses a 45-degree three-valve-per-cylinder engine. The M90's higher compression ratio and larger throttle bodies are also meant to mimic the 109's sporty engine. Nearly identical styling to the M109 also makes it what Suzuki calls a 'middleweight performance cruiser'.